#concertchronicles

Zeal and Ardor:

I did not know the band beforehand, and had no time to check up on them before the concert, but safe to say I was very pleasantly surprised! Much more metal focused act, than Heilung, their energy was perfect for starting off the night. Absolutely no pre-act syndrome either, no forced hyping of the crowd. They're exactly the right balance of melodic and heavy for my liking, definitely going to spend some more time listening to them on my own.

Heilung:

I was a bit unsure what to expect from Heilung live, but it was everything I could ask for and more. Visually they're in a league of their own. All the set pieces and choreography fitting that old Nordic/pagan style exactly. Their slowly unraveling musical style makes this an almost meditative experience, one with remarkable primal power though. All of this is apparent from recordings, but experiencing it live, in the middle of the crowd amplified it a hundred times. (I also feel like mentioning that through the entire show there was only a single word directed towards the audience, which was a perfectly pronounced hungarian 'thank you' at the end.)

Barba Negra lived up to the expectations, in my experience it is one of the most technically good and consistent venues there is. Only complaint is that it's somewhat hard to get to.

Starset:

The show was very much hyped as the most impressive show of Starset yet, and having been to two of the previous ones (that being all the ones they had in Hungary), I had my expectations set high.

It was a noticeably different one. To me, 6 fan displays and 2 lazers aren't really the pinnacle of impressive, I think the hype was a bit too much in that regard. Other than that though, the show was very well put together.

The lore department worked extra hard on this one, being the "end of an era", it was really nice to see some of the oldest plot points of the story finally come full circle. We had a lore section between every song, and while I have always been one to enjoy and follow the story, I can see how that would break the flow for some people.

Songs and performance were of the expected quality. It's Starset, I love them, it was great. Every single time I'm surprised how different Dustin sounds live compared to the recordings, not at all in a bad way though. Always appreciated Starset for playing a selection of all their previous songs, much more so than other bands, and this show was no different. Subtle reimagining of older songs also keeps them fresh, even for longer time listeners. At the same time the messages of the new songs are more relevant than ever, taking a very clear stance on some issues. Stances I think many people can get behind.

Speaking of listeners, there was a surprising number of Starset first-timers! Might be related to the feeling that there was a little less movement in the crowd than I expected, maybe not. I was lucky enough to be between two people who matched my vibe exactly, so no complaints.

Barba Negra (my beloved) good as ever, there were some audio balance issues at the beginning, but Dustin was also wearing a mask, so I can forgive them. The rest was also great.

Ultimately very satisfied with the experience, very interested to see where the band goes next, with a new album on the horizon (pun intended).

Vower:

Once again, did not do any homework. (Lord knows I had no time.) But a perfectly cromulent warmup band, a fair bit more metal focused than Grandson. Reminded me a little bit of I Prevail, which is honestly a very good thing. Been listening to them a bit since, very enjoyable. Pretty impressive stuff considering the band is very new, they only started a couple years ago.

Grandson:

Time for a reprise! Second time seeing Grandson live, insane show once again. He's very good at managing the crowd, his shows are always a joy to attend. I've never been more sad about my busted knee, I wanted to jump in the pit so bad. Guess I'll have to get some kind of a knee brace before my next concert. Also a bit surprised by the level of prep around the local situation, I mean we are kinda famous for our shitty leaders, but still. All around great sounds and vibes.

Barba Negra Red Stage:

I've been through this a million times, but this one was one of the better ones. Sound work was good, and since the air outside was cooler the temperature inside also remained manageable. My only complaint this time is with the lights. They had some LED stuff on either side of the stage, facing exactly towards the crowd, and those fuckers were bright. As fuck. And the single "cloakroom" also made getting out take a lifetime. But mostly it was fine.

Knower:

Another of my long time favorites I was finally able to see in person. Coming originally from ClownC0re (nothing's confirmed, of course!!!) the same jazz adjacent insanity and incredible musicianship quickly drew me into Knower too. Incredible to watch them live, insanely talented musicians in the lineup. Also watching them live is guaranteed to be a new experience compared to listening to records, since they improvise large sections of the solos in the songs. Think of it as less of a show, and more of a semi-structured jam session for the musicians. I personally really like that. There were some songs I missed, but I know time is finite, and the selection they ended up playing wasn't bad at all. (Also I am partial to saxophones, and the current touring lineup does not have one. Sad.)

Magyar Zene Háza:

Sick looking building! Never been here before (somehow), but it was really cool. Especially when the beam lights with the gobo hit the already ornate ceiling, super pretty. Also proper fucking line array mounting hights, take notes, Akvárium. Only slight gripe is that the hall is used for both seated and standing events, and since this one was standing with the seats removed, the stage ended up being pretty low, it was hard to see even for my tall ass.

I realize I forgot to write about this, which is fucked up because I had a lot of fun. Anyway.

Besh o droM:

Did not know them, but did have some time to check up on them before the event. I told my concert partner right then that it was gonna be really fun, and I was right. World music has a certain special place in my heart. You'll rarely ever see people dancing outside of the Red Stage tent. Almost everyone was here. Kinda leads into my only gripe: from my understanding they brought their own audio technician, and the volume was UP. Like almost uncomfortable up, even for me. But other than that, the performance was great. The genre just has something very approachable to it thanks to the folk roots, that makes it very easy for people to go along, and this act pulled it off masterfully. Been listening to them since too.

Dubioza Kolektiv:

God, I love these weirdos. Similar sentiment to the world music, in that the folk roots are there, but twisted as far into the opposite direction as you can imagine. Been a listener for a while, first show I could attend live. And it was just as high energy, approachable, and off-the-rocker as I expected. The crowd was very well behaved and friendly too, they really brought the Balkan boys together - for the night at least. Really just goes to show that you really don't need to speak a bands language (or even know their songs, necessarily), as long as they got a few boards with arrows and "Hey!" on them, anything is possible. Anyway, I really can't say much, I had high expectations, and they delivered.

Barba Negra:

So yeah. Same old song and dance, I wrote my thoughts down a million times. However! When it is like 35°C outside, and the show is as physically intense as Dubioza is for example, the ventilation issue gets exacerbated severely. We were sweating our asses off. Which is fine, not unexpected at a show like this, but also only payed water, which in my opinion for outside venues in the summer should be illegal.

Yue:

For the second time in a row, I was unprepared. This time it was much less surprising though, a very similar sound to Fox Stevenson. Honestly, nothing too special, brought the necessary quality to warm the night up. Also turns out she's Stanley's girlfriend, so that explains a few things. :D

People weren't that interested seemingly, there were noticeably fewer people there for her set than the rest of the night. Little sad.

Fox Stevenson:

Live band, then DJ set. In all honesty, the live band experience didn't add that much, the electronic backing track was mostly still in the foreground. (The drummer boi was going fucking wild tho, he should've been front stage if you ask me.) That's not to say it was bad at all, very fun, the little genre bending that Fox Stevenson does makes the setlist enjoyable for those who aren't hardcore DnB fans as well.

And it shows on the crowd too. I still feel like DnB is one of the best genres to move the entire venue. Highest average movement in a fair bit for sure, very bounceable. The people I went with complained about a bit more questionable individuals than usual, not sure, maybe I'm just getting desensitized.

DJ set was also very fun. Good selection of songs, as usual, and he also knows what he's doing behind the decks.

Akvárium Nagyhall:

I've not been here very often, I can only remember one time before this, but eh. Most of it is fine, they solved the same small space ventilation issue that A38 usually struggles with, it's maybe even a bit more expensive, (still manageable for the occasional night out though) but lord knows I'm never going again without ear protection.

It wasn't very well balanced either, lots of noisy high end slipping through, but the bad part is the two, five piece line arrays on the edge of stage, hung suspiciously low. Don't stand in front of those, not fun. Interestingly, I don't remember things like this from Kishall.

The Pontiac:

I didn't know the band beforehand, and I'll be honest, I did not do my homework this time around. Very similar style to Fatal Error, so they were a reasonable choice to lead. From the few songs they played they seem to be a bit slower paced, but I'll definitely have to do some more exploration to be able too tell properly. And I will. Very pleasant surprise.

Fatal Error:

I think for the first time ever I'm in danger of hitting the Tumblr text limit. Let's start from the objective part.

Great show, couldn't have been better. The band is always a joy live, and this show wasn't an exception either. They balance their slower songs with their higher energy ones remarkably well, and they can bring the audience along trough these changes as well. In line with this, the crowd was great as well. It was only revealed at about the halfway point of the show, but I was standing next to the lead singer's sister.

Speaking of which, as it should be on a good farewell gig, the arena was full of invited guests on- and off-stage as well. Everyone's families, former band members, other musician friends. Two birthdays were also on the next day, so the venue started singing Happy Birthday on their own. Also just generally very nice crowd, my heart breaks a little bit every time I see a good, respectful pit.

They played stuff from pretty much every era of the band. Old songs, new songs, old songs in different arrangements. But all of them were perceived slightly differently, with the added context of the group disbanding. Very worthy 3 hours to remember the band by.

As much as I don't include politics on my blog, it is important to note (and also I feel it would be dishonest to report about the concert without mentioning it), that on their big day, that everyone was watching on, and 4 cameras were rolling, they stopped the show for a few minutes to voice their dislike for not just the hate campaign of the Hungarian government, but the state of the world in general. Reminding us about the importance of personal relations, and to look after our loved ones, now more than ever. And immediately after they played the song Forradalom (Revolution).

Now, for the slightly less objective part.

Horrible show, couldn't have been worse. I think the Hungarian alt/rock/punk scene is losing a bastion. They never were the most famous, but they were known all around, especially after the Dal appearance in 2019. Immensely talented musicians, and just lovely people in general, certainly role models for many.

As discussed a bit above, we are not only loosing a great crew musically, but also an incredible voice of reason from the public. I can only hope they will remain active individually on some level.

The reason to disband is completely understandable, but it doesn't make it any easier, not on the band members, not on the listeners. To quote Zsola, the singer: "I hate that it turned out this way. If we weren't friends, if I didn't like everyone this much, this could be so much easier." To say that people were crying is an understatement.

A38:

A38 is an alright venue. They are always very much on top of their visual stuff, including the video recording equipment. (Which actually includes an overhead cable track camera, and I think that's super cool.) They are usually on top of their audio game too, not so much this time, had some issues, mostly minor stuff tho, wasn't too bad.

Two things worth mentioning. It is still on the more expensive side when it comes to drinks. More importantly, the ventilation isn't the best. Being a relatively small, enclosed space, for the second part of the shows usually you can start seeing all the moisture in the air start condensing on the ceiling. Usually it isn't a problem, this time a girl did get sick though.

Ultimately amazing concert, both from a technical and emotional viewpoint. But the world will never be the same.

I'm gonna put the entirely subjective part here, because I have to put it somewhere.

Almost exactly 6 years before the date of this concert, I was 18, still in high school, still living in the place I used to. I still consider it a bit of a shitty place, but we especially didn't have any bands coming I would have been interested in. And then I heard that Fatal Error would be coming to play in the tiny café thing next to the library. And then I messaged a friend if they would like to go together.

Long story short, that one was kinda the first concert I went to of my own volition. And I loved every second of it. They were the start to my live show journey. And now, 6 years later, both them and me with many more shows behind out backs (maybe them a bit more than me), it's kinda poetic that I would also be part of the end of theirs.

I got a shirt at their old concert and it still fit reasonably enough, so I went in that. It all comes full circle. So thanks for the last 10 or so years bois. You will not be forgotten for a very long time.